Tag: kim

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had “an incredible” meeting with North Korea’s nuclear envoy Kim Yong Chol and the two sides had made “a lot of progress” on denuclearization. The White House announced after Friday talks that Trump would hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February, but would maintain economic sanctions on Pyongyang. “That was an incredible meeting,” Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said of the talks. Kim Jong Un is looking

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had “an incredible” meeting with North Korea’s nuclear envoy Kim Yong Chol and the two sides had made “a lot of progress” on denuclearization.

The White House announced after Friday talks that Trump would hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February, but would maintain economic sanctions on Pyongyang.

“That was an incredible meeting,” Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said of the talks.

“We’ve agreed to meet sometime, probably the end of February. We’ve picked a country but we’ll be announcing it in the future. Kim Jong Un is looking very forward to it and so am I,” Trump said.

“We have made a lot of progress as far as denuclearization is concerned and we are talking about a lot of different things. Things are going very well with North Korea.”

Trump and the White House have given no details of the talks, and despite his upbeat comments there has been no indication of any narrowing of differences over U.S. demands that North Korea abandon a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States and Pyongyang’s demands for a lifting of punishing sanctions.

A first summit in June in Singapore — the first-ever between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader — produced a vague commitment by Kim Jong Un to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but he has yet to take what Washington sees as concrete steps in that direction.

Critics of U.S. efforts say the first summit only boosted Kim’s international stature without much to show for it, and some believe Trump may see a second meeting as a way of distracting from his domestic troubles.

Trump did not elaborate on the country chosen to host the summit, but Vietnam has been considered a leading candidate.

Kim Yong Chol, regarded as a member of Kim Jong Un’s inner circle, also had talks on Friday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the U.S. special representative on North Korea, Stephen Biegun.

The State Department said the two sides had “a productive first meeting at the working level” and Biegun would travel to Sweden at the weekend to attend an international conference.

The conference is also being attended by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. Washington has been keen to set up talks between Biegun and Choe but North Korea has resisted, apparently wanting to keep exchanges high-level.

Asked if the two would meet in Stockholm, a State Department spokeswoman said: “We have no meetings to announce.”

Seven months after the first U.S.-North Korea meeting, Pyongyang has done little to eliminate its nuclear arsenal — a scenario that political watchers don’t see changing even after a second or third summit. North Korea’s top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, in currently in Washington D.C. to discuss the prospective of a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that could take place as early as March or April, according to reports. The prospect of more face-to-fa

Seven months after the first U.S.-North Korea meeting, Pyongyang has done little to eliminate its nuclear arsenal — a scenario that political watchers don’t see changing even after a second or third summit.

North Korea’s top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, in currently in Washington D.C. to discuss the prospective of a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that could take place as early as March or April, according to reports.

The prospect of more face-to-face talks is undoubtedly a positive development — regular dialogue helps contain conflict on the Korean Peninsula — but it isn’t expected to push the North on denuclearization, according to experts. Rather, Trump and Kim may simply be looking to keep communication lines open and avoid the heated saber-rattling that defined their relationship in 2017.

A North Korean envoy arrived in Washington on Thursday for expected talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a possible encounter with President Donald Trump aimed at laying the groundwork for a second U.S.-North Korea summit. The North Korean visit could yield an announcement of plans for another summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pompeo had planned to meet his North Korean counterpart to discuss a second summit last November, but the

A North Korean envoy arrived in Washington on Thursday for expected talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a possible encounter with President Donald Trump aimed at laying the groundwork for a second U.S.-North Korea summit.

The envoy arrived on the same day Trump unveiled a revamped U.S. missile defense strategy that singled out North Korea as an ongoing and “extraordinary threat,” seven months after he declared after his first summit with leader Kim Jong Un that the North Korean threat had been eliminated.

Kim Yong Chol, Pyongyang’s lead negotiator in denuclearization talks with the United States, was due to meet Pompeo and could also go to the White House on Friday, a person familiar with the plan said, a sign of potential movement in a diplomatic effort that has appeared stalled for months.

The North Korean visit could yield an announcement of plans for another summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

There has been no indication, however, of any narrowing of differences over U.S. demands that North Korea abandon a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States or Pyongyang’s demand for a lifting of punishing sanctions.

Kim Yong Chol, a hardline former spy chief, arrived in Washington on a commercial flight from Beijing, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Yonhap and other South Korean media said he was greeted at Dulles airport by Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea.

Pompeo had planned to meet his North Korean counterpart to discuss a second summit last November, but the meeting was postponed at the last moment.

Diplomatic contact was resumed after Kim Jong Un delivered a New Year speech in which he said he was willing to meet Trump “at any time,” South Korea’s ambassador to the United States, Cho Yoon-je, told reporters last week.

Kim Yong Chol was last in Washington in June, when he delivered a letter from Kim Jong Un to Trump that opened the way for the June 12 summit in Singapore.

That meeting yielded a pledge from the latter to work towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and Trump declared the next day that there was “no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.”

There has been little obvious progress since, however, which was underlined by the Missile Defense Review unveiled on Thursday.

Introducing the report, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan noted that North Korean missiles remained a “significant concern.” Trump himself only mentioned North Korea in passing at the same event, saying negotiations he had conducted should have been done years ago.

In July, an NBC News report, citing U.S. intelligence assessments, said that North Korea had increased production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites in recent months. As it stands, North Korea is the only nation to have tested nuclear weapons this century. The president responded by tweeting: “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” Even though reports showed reasons to doubt North Korea’s commitment to denucleari

While Trump has worked to thaw relations with Kim over the last year, including through an unprecedented face-to-face meeting in Singapore, North Korea is reportedly still working on new missile development projects. In July, an NBC News report, citing U.S. intelligence assessments, said that North Korea had increased production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites in recent months.

Meanwhile, under Kim, the reclusive state has conducted its most powerful nuclear test, launched its first-ever intercontinental ballistic missile, and threatened to send missiles into the waters near Guam.

Since 2011, North Korea has fired more than 85 missiles and four nuclear weapons tests — which is more than what his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung, launched over a period of 27 years. As it stands, North Korea is the only nation to have tested nuclear weapons this century.

Read more: A timeline of North Korea’s defiant rocket launches in 2017

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment.

The second meeting extends a turn toward diplomacy after Trump and the North Korean regime made repeated threats in the early months of the U.S. president’s tenure. As Pyongyang continued testing missiles, Trump said in August 2017 that North Korea “will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

On New Year’s Day 2018, Kim — who Trump once labeled “Little Rocket Man” — said he had a nuclear launch button ready at his desk at all times. The president responded by tweeting: “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”

The two leaders have recently been more conciliatory. Even though reports showed reasons to doubt North Korea’s commitment to denuclearization, Trump heaped praise on Kim last year. In September, Trump said the two leaders “fell in love” after exchanging “beautiful letters.”

Trump has defended his first summit with Kim as necessary to preserve peace, after critics said he legitimized a dictator with a dismal human rights record.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is about to hold high-level talks in Washington D.C. with North Korean senior official Kim Yong Chol on Thursday or Friday, and both sides are fine-tuning details, a South Korean newspaper said. The North Korean official is likely to meet President Donald Trump as well, the Chosun Ilbo said on Tuesday, citing an unnamed diplomatic source familiar with the talks between the United States and North Korea. Asked about the South Korean newspaper report, a State De

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is about to hold high-level talks in Washington D.C. with North Korean senior official Kim Yong Chol on Thursday or Friday, and both sides are fine-tuning details, a South Korean newspaper said.

The North Korean official is likely to meet President Donald Trump as well, the Chosun Ilbo said on Tuesday, citing an unnamed diplomatic source familiar with the talks between the United States and North Korea.

Asked about the South Korean newspaper report, a State Department official said, “We don’t have any meetings to announce.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States is considering partially easing sanctions on North Korea in exchange for the isolated nation discarding, or sending abroad, its intercontinental ballistic missiles, in addition to the adoption of a “nuclear freeze,” the U.S. talks with the South Korean government have shown, the Chosun Ilbo said, citing the source.

“If North Korea accepts, it’s a realizable scenario,” it quoted the source as saying.

South Korea’s presidential office directed questions to the foreign ministry, which did not have immediate comment.

This month, Trump said he had received a “great” letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and would probably meet him again in the not-too-distant future, as part of efforts to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons.

Pompeo made several trips to Pyongyang last year, but the two sides have not rescheduled an abruptly canceled November meeting between him and Kim Yong Chol that aimed at paving the way for a second summit.

The White House said Monday that Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump and a senior advisor to him, is not being considered to be the next head of the World Bank. The White House also said, however, Ivanka is overseeing an internal search for a new Bank chief. Last week, The Financial Times reported Ivanka was, among others, being considered for the role. The White House denial was first reported by Politico. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced last week he would resign fr

The White House said Monday that Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump and a senior advisor to him, is not being considered to be the next head of the World Bank.

The White House also said, however, Ivanka is overseeing an internal search for a new Bank chief.

“Secretary Mnunchin and Chief of Staff Mulvaney have asked Ivanka Trump to help manage the U.S. nomination process as she’s worked closely with the World Bank’s leadership for the past two years – however, reports that she is under consideration are false,” White House spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said in a statement.

Last week, The Financial Times reported Ivanka was, among others, being considered for the role. The White House denial was first reported by Politico.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced last week he would resign from his post effective Feb. 1. Kim would be stepping down well before his term ends in 2022. Kim was nominated to his post by former President Barack Obama.

Reuters, citing two people familiar with the announcement, reported that Kim was leaving the World Bank on his own terms and was “not pushed out” by the Trump administration.

There was ‘frustration’ in Kim Jong Un’s message: Expert 4:50 AM ET Wed, 2 Jan 2019 | 03:00But to do so, Pyongyang needs help from its rich neighbors. The nuclear-armed nation is seeking more than $7.7 million in investment, the Seoul-based online newspaper NK News reported last month, citing information from a website run by North Korea’s foreign trade ministry. Xi’s Belt and Road project offers the perfect answer to those needs. Pyongyang “would love to be part of Belt and Road,” Dane Chamorro

But to do so, Pyongyang needs help from its rich neighbors. The nuclear-armed nation is seeking more than $7.7 million in investment, the Seoul-based online newspaper NK News reported last month, citing information from a website run by North Korea’s foreign trade ministry.

Xi’s Belt and Road project offers the perfect answer to those needs. China has historically been Pyongyang’s largest trading partner.

Pyongyang “would love to be part of Belt and Road,” Dane Chamorro, a senior partner in the Asia Pacific division of Control Risks, a consulting firm specializing in politics told CNBC on Friday. Kim’s government is waiting for an invitation so his country can get assistance on the construction of railway links and ports and other facilities, Chamorro said.

Beijing also seems keen on Pyongyang’s inclusion, with the Chinese government inviting a North Korean delegation to attend a Belt and Road summit in 2017 — but it’s unlikely to take any action for now.

Including Pyongyang in the BRI is “probably more trouble than it’s worth” at the present moment, said Mintaro Oba, a former U.S. State Department official who specialized in the Koreas during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

For one, sanctions still remain in place. Beijing, however, has called for those penalties to be eased.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during a visit to China his country would try to make a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump achieve a result that the international community would welcome, China’s Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. The visit to China, Kim’s fourth in the past year, followed reports of advanced negotiations for a second summit between Washington and Pyongyang aimed at resolving the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Kim and Trump pledg

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during a visit to China his country would try to make a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump achieve a result that the international community would welcome, China’s Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Kim also told Chinese President Xi Jinping he hoped relevant sides would take North Korea’s “reasonable concerns” seriously and respond to them to promote a comprehensive resolution on the Korean peninsula, China’s official news agency said.

The visit to China, Kim’s fourth in the past year, followed reports of advanced negotiations for a second summit between Washington and Pyongyang aimed at resolving the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Kim and Trump pledged to work towards denuclearization at their landmark summit in Singapore in June but the agreement was short on specifics.

Negotiations have made little headway since.

“The DPRK will continue sticking to the stance of denuclearization and resolving the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and consultation, and make efforts for the second summit between DPRK and U.S. leaders to achieve results that will be welcomed by the international community,” Xinhua quoted Kim as saying.

DPRK, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is North Korea’s official name.

The Chinese state news agency described the atmosphere in talks between Kim and Xi as “cordial and friendly” and said the two reached important consensus, agreeing to make joint efforts to promote development.

It said China supported the North’s adherence to “the direction of denuclearization” on the peninsula and the improvement of inter-Korean relations. Beijing also supported U.S.-North Korean summits and the use of dialogue to resolve concerns, it quoted Xi as saying.

“China hopes that the DPRK and the United States will meet each other halfway,” it said.

South Korea says it hopes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s trip to China will act as a “stepping stone” for a second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump. South Korean presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom made the comments a few hours after Kim arrived in Beijing on Tuesday aboard a special train for a four-day visit. The spokesman says he hopes impending China-North Korea talks will also help contribute to achieving complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. State Department officials recently met multiple times with North Korean counterparts in Hanoi and discussed planning a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday. U.S. officials discussed the schedule for the second Trump-Kim summit while in contact with North Korean officials in the Vietnamese capital city, fuelling speculation that Vietnam could host the event, the Munhwa Ilbo reported, citing unnamed

U.S. State Department officials recently met multiple times with North Korean counterparts in Hanoi and discussed planning a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday.

U.S. officials discussed the schedule for the second Trump-Kim summit while in contact with North Korean officials in the Vietnamese capital city, fuelling speculation that Vietnam could host the event, the Munhwa Ilbo reported, citing unnamed diplomatic sources in Seoul and Washington.

Vietnam has diplomatic relations with both the United States and North Korea, with North Korea maintaining a diplomatic office in Vietnam, and has the symbolic significance of a communist country that has reformed its economy, the newspaper reported.

A spokesperson for the U.S Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters in Washington that the United States and North Korea are “negotiating a location” for a second summit.

“It will be announced probably in the not too distant future,” Trump said. “They do want to meet and we want to meet and we’ll see what happens.”

While the two sides had “a very good dialogue” and the American president had “indirectly” communicated with Kim, Trump said sanctions would be enforced until more progress is made.

In a nationally televised New Year address, Kim said he is willing to meet Trump again anytime to achieve their common goal of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula, but warned he may have to take an alternative path if U.S. sanctions and pressure against the country continued.

“I am always ready to sit together with the U.S. president anytime in the future, and will work hard to produce results welcomed by the international community without fail,” Kim said.